Milligan plans consolidation of academics

MILLIGAN COLLEGE — Milligan College will soon undertake the first total restructuring of its academic offerings since an overhaul and accreditation effort by college President Dean Walker in 1959.

Current President Bill Greer announced Friday that the Christian liberal arts college’s nine areas of learning will be consolidated into five schools of study.

Under the plan, which Greer said is endorsed by the faculty and Board of Trustees, the areas of Education and Social Learning will be combined to form the School of Social Sciences & Education; the areas of Nursing, Occupational Therapy and Scientific Learning will become the School of Science & Allied Health; Humane Learning and Performing, Visual and Communicative Arts will be the School of Arts & Humanities; Biblical Learning will be the School of Bible & Ministry — including the integrated Emmanuel Christian Seminary — and the area of Business will become the William B. Greene Jr. School of Business & Technology.

“In today’s rapidly changing world with ever-evolving student needs and with increasingly challenging social, political and economic pressures, Milligan itself must be able to change and adapt quickly while we ensure the college continues to pursue our noble mission,” Greer said. “What we’re announcing today positions us to continue to do that well.”

The new academic structure makes the college’s programs of study more nimble, Greer added, by making administrative functions more efficient and allowing faculty members to better focus on their own disciplines.

With the creation of the new schools, Milligan can introduce new majors in engineering and physician’s assistance, both of which have been proposed to the school’s governing board.

Milligan Trustee and BancTenn Corp. chairman William Greene said the naming of the new business school after him was a great honor.

Greene, the head of the company that owns Bank of Tennessee, Carter County Bank and Mountain Community Bank, said he provided Milligan with an unspecified multimillion-dollar donation because the continuing dedication to its mission and proper financial management from its leaders has made the college a premier religious institution while others in the area have faltered.

“When you look at Bristol, and you look at other small private schools around this area, Milligan has moved up,” he said. “While they were changing presidents in Bristol and King like NFL coaches, we began to see that Milligan had moved (up), while other private schools were still down.”

The continued financial support from alumni is a testament to the quality of the education provided at Milligan and the effectiveness of its leaders, Greene said.

“They’ve continued to bring highly talented people into the administration who could plan budgets, execute those budgets and raise money,” he said. “Milligan understood what it took to build a financially strong institution. If you’re not financially strong, eventually the house of cards is going to crumble.”

Follow Nathan Baker on Twitter @JCPressBaker. Like him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jcpressbaker.